Airshow contract sees De Boer building world’s largest temporary exhibition venue

Structure specialist De Boer has begun the huge logistical challenge of creating a temporary exhibition venue for the 2012 Farnborough International Airshow.
The contract, which will see around 80,000 square metres of accommodation put in place ahead of this summer’s aerospace spectacular, is the company’s largest single assignment.
Over the coming weeks around 3,000 tonnes of equipment will be delivered to historic Farnborough Airport in Hampshire as De Boer creates what it believes to be the world’s largest temporary exhibition venue.
The build project is being overseen by De Boer’s Key Accounts Manager Kate Morrison and Project Manager Katie Russell. Kate is handling her second Farnborough International Airshow, having taken charge of the build process in 2010. She has worked for De Boer for eight years. Meanwhile Katie is tackling the event for the very first time, having joined the company just a year ago.
The ladies are project managing a team that will number as many as 34 people per day in the run-up to the biennial airshow. Once in place, De Boer’s facilities will be handed over to client Farnborough International Limited (FIL) for fit-out ahead of the event, taking place between July 9 and 15.
With De Boer’s build process getting under way on February 20, the company’s personnel will now spend more than 20 weeks creating a vast array of facilities including four huge exhibition halls – the largest of which will measure 50 metres by 250 metres. Other facilities will include hospitality suites, public dining areas, exhibitors’ chalets, organisers’ offices, media centre and merchandising areas.
In total, De Boer’s accommodation will provide FIL with floor space equivalent in size to 460 tennis courts or sufficient to accommodate London’s huge Royal Albert Hall 30 times!
De Boer’s structures will be delivered in 200 articulated lorries. Structures will be transported from the company’s UK headquarters in Brackley, Northamptonshire, as well as from its overseas projects making the best use of manpower and materials at all times.
Katie Russell said: “The scale of the airshow is absolutely staggering, not only in terms of the amount of equipment De Boer provides but because of the complexity of the build process. We’re providing a huge array of different products, with structures heading to Farnborough from other prestigious events.”
Meanwhile Kate Morrison said: “The airshow involves a huge team effort, not just within De Boer but between our staff and organiser FIL and the many exhibitors. This is the ninth successive Farnborough International Airshow to be tackled by De Boer, so we’re looking forward to building on the many successes of the past.”
As the world’s leading aerospace event, the biennial Farnborough International Airshow attracts exhibitors, visitors and delegations from more than 40 countries. At the last show in 2010, US$47bn in orders were announced among the 1,455 exhibitors and more than 250,000 visitors attended over the seven days